Fall 21 ORC Week Three: Final Demo + Floor Sealing
It’s week three of the One Room Challenge and we’re so happy to have made some big progress on our family room! Last week we pulled up the carpet and discovered vinyl floor tiles underneath. Because we couldn’t be sure if they contained asbestos or not, we had to assume they did and stopped all work immediately until the floor was properly sealed. We ordered a floor encapsulant called PerfectPrimer which arrived on Tuesday, just two days ago, and got to work right away.
First we picked up pieces of cracked tile and debris by hand (wearing gloves), vacuumed to remove as much dust as possible, and then mopped the floor a few times with a mixture of Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner and water. Next we used PerfectCleaner, the cleaning product recommended by the same company we bought the PerfectPrimer from. Once that was dry, Zach painted the entire floor with PerfectPrimer using a roller brush. It needs approximately 12 hours to dry, and then a second coat of PerfectPrimer will go on the floor tonight. The final step to finish our floor prep will be one coat of regular paint over the encapsulant. It’s a lot more than we were expecting, but it’s so important to do this the right way before we lay the flooring down.
We're finding that one of the toughest parts of this is getting everything lined up in the correct order. There's an ongoing global supply chain crisis, so materials are harder to come by and take longer to ship. If you're using contractors, you will need to get them dialed in on the scope of work so that you're making decisions based on accurate pricing. And don't forget, those contractors need to be scheduled (and often paid!) well in advance of when you're actually ready for them to start work. On top of that, you need to give yourself enough time to accomplish each task and leave enough buffer to adjust to new conditions (like these floor tiles and this previously-unplanned floor sealing!) as they arise. We have to finish this floor before Monday, because framing, electrical rough-in, and drywall installation are all starting next week!
Another big accomplishment was removing the fireplace tile, which officially completes the demo phase of this project! Zach rented a 1” rotohammer from Home Depot and used a chisel bit to remove the tile, which came off really quickly. What’s worse than a red tile fireplace in a purple-pink room? One covered in yellow adhesive and peeling tile mesh! Like I said last week, things tend to look worse before they look better with home projects, and I think we’ve officially reached the ugliest point in our room makeover. Good news is, it’ll only get better from here!
Next week will be a busy one, including our first time resurfacing a fireplace! I’ll be sharing as much as possible on Instagram, so be sure to follow along for even more content.
Thank you again to our partners who are helping us with the One Room Challenge!
And if you haven’t yet, check out all of the amazing projects going on this fall for the One Room Challenge!
